# National Anthem



## Shiny Grimer (Dec 14, 2009)

What are some national anthems you like? How do you feel about National Anthems?

I'll start this with some awesome anthems: The Soviet Union's Anthem, La Marsellaise, and La Bayamesa. These anthems are inspiring and exciting (as opposed to boring pieces like The Star Spangled Banner and God Save the Queen). Their music moves me. The lyrics can even be scary ("qu'un sang impure abreuve nos sillons". May an impure blood water our gardens.). Damn, these anthems make me want to die for nations that aren't mine!

Now for some ok anthems: The Star Spangled Banner, O Canada, and God Save Our Queen. These anthems are ok. They're average, nothing special about them. I don't mind them. I admit that I love this version of the Star Spangled Banner sung in Navajo (one of the US's native languages!).

Dishonorable mentions: Lofsongur. The Marquee of Doom summed it up well: boring, lyrics having little to do with Iceland, and being ridiculously hard to sing. It's almost as if it was chosen to discourage people from liking their country. Das Deutschlandlied is the opposite - it's pretty cool except for how ridiculously nationalistic it is (German women! Fight for the German women! Because they're hot and stuff. Apparently.). Maamme is as boring as Lofsongur.

La Marcha Real because it has no lyrics. Take that, anthems with lyrics!
Kimi go Ya and Jana Gana Mana are cool because they don't sound like hymns! Yay!
The South African Anthem is the only anthem in the world to be in more than one language and to change keys.

The number of countries in Africa that have French or English anthems instead of anthems in the native langauges is sad. :( I think something like 50% of them are in French/English. Colonialism sucks.

So, putting aside personal feelings for a country, what are your favorite/least favorite national anthems? What versions do you like in particular?


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## #1 bro (Dec 14, 2009)

The best national anthem is this one.


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## spaekle (Dec 14, 2009)

I think the US and France's anthems are a lot better instrumental.

Woah, the Soviet Union's is awesome.


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## Harlequin (Dec 14, 2009)

Waaaaales. LAND OF MY FATHERS and stuff. Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and shit.

I like it because it's silly and no one knows more than the first two lines.


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## Zhorken (Dec 14, 2009)

... said:


> The South African Anthem is the only anthem in the world to be in more than one language...


O Canada, terre de nos aïeux...  Or, wait, the South African anthem has multiple languages in just the one set of lyrics?  _Awesome._

I'm really not fond of Canada's anthem.  La Marseillaise is pretty cool.  I'm not familiar with any others and can't YouTube right now.

I hate that they made us stand at attention for the national anthem (and, in the earlier years, sing along) every day from kindergarten through grade twelve.  Is that common around the world?  i also remember in highschool a few years ago they once played God Save the Queen instead for... some occasion I forget and a bunch of people were _furious_, which I found hilarious to watch.


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## Prairie Chicken (Dec 14, 2009)

I've always been a fan of Azerbaijan's, so long as it's played reasonably fast. Otherwise it just sounds all sad and gloomy.


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## Ether's Bane (Dec 14, 2009)

Did you know that South Africa's first half of its anthem is the same as Tanzania's and Zambia's anthems?

Geekiness aside, I like the anthems of Spain, Germany, Singapore, Australia, the US, Brazil, France, and Italy.

Over here in Malaysia, we're stuck with a suckish anthem. :(


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## Tailsy (Dec 14, 2009)

Scotland's.

What do you mean, it doesn't have one? It does so!! We pretend... we're.. cool... and don't have to sing fucking 'God Save The Queen' >8(


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## Tarvos (Dec 14, 2009)

radiohead's the national anthem is best

i mean wilhelmus which is actually the oldest anthem


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## Dragonclaw (Dec 14, 2009)

I think our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, is the most boring thing ever. I guess it sounds pretty cool on the organ though.


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## Dannichu (Dec 14, 2009)

Yeah, but you guys can pretend that Waltzing Matilda's your anthem, and that's just _awesome_ :D

I'm uncultured; I know no national anthems, incuding my own. Well, I know the "God save the queen" bit, and nothing else. Outside of someone winning the Grand Prix, I don't see a lot of occasion to know national anthems, anyways.


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## goldenquagsire (Dec 14, 2009)

> Waaaaales. LAND OF MY FATHERS and stuff. Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and shit.
> 
> I like it because it's silly and no one knows more than the first two lines.


even the Secretary of State for Wales didn't know it!

national anthems can be fun sometimes but it gets a little silly when people take them too seriously.


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## opaltiger (Dec 14, 2009)

Tailsy said:


> Scotland's.
> 
> What do you mean, it doesn't have one? It does so!! We pretend... we're.. cool... and don't have to sing fucking 'God Save The Queen' >8(


well flower of scotland has this lovely bit:



> Those days are past now,
> And in the past
> they must remain,
> But we can still rise now,
> ...


alternatively, from Scotland the Brave:



> Far off in sunlit places,
> Sad are the Scottish faces,
> Yearning to feel the kiss of sweet Scottish rain.
> Where tropic skies are beaming,
> ...


only scotland would have an anthem yearning for rain, I think.



> I think our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, is the most boring thing ever. I guess it sounds pretty cool on the organ though.


if only it weren't really racist!

the slovenian anthem is pretty boring. our secret is that it is actually a drinking song, with the one verse we use as the anthem being the only one that talks about liberty and freedom and so on and so forth. I wish we had Hej, Slovani instead. That is an awesome song.

best anthems are the current russian one and The Internationale, though.


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## Lorem Ipsum (Dec 14, 2009)

Our national anthem would be cool if it were Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory (or even I Vow to Thee My Country...) but God Save the Queen is just... meh.


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## Karkat Vantas (Dec 14, 2009)

The Star Spangled Banner is boring, slow, and lame. The annoying thing is that it's the only anthem that anyone knows more than the first two lines to. The Hendrix version is pretty cool, though.

La Marsellaise is probably one of the greatest anthems ever. It just has this... epic feel to it.


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## Shiny Grimer (Dec 15, 2009)

opaltiger said:


> the slovenian anthem is pretty boring. our secret is that it is actually a drinking song, with the one verse we use as the anthem being the only one that talks about liberty and freedom and so on and so forth.


Then there's this quote:

_To you, our pride past measure,
Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
There surely is no treasure
To equal maidens of such race.
Sons you'll bear,
Who will dare
Defy our foe no matter where._

It's not actually in the anthem but wtf. Germany's has a similar thing:

_German women, German loyalty,
German wine and German song
Shall retain in the world
Their old beautiful chime
And inspire us to noble deeds
During all of our life._

Yes, German and Slovene girls are so hot that you must die for them. _die_


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## Storm Earth and Fire (Dec 15, 2009)

... said:


> The number of countries in Africa that have French or English anthems instead of anthems in the native langauges is sad. :( I think something like 50% of them are in French/English. Colonialism sucks.


To be fair, a number of those countries will have many native languages, sometimes without a clear majority, so writing the national anthem in a colonial language is a fair compromise.

I like the Hymn of the Soviet Union, March of the Volunteers, the National Anthem of the Republic of China, and La Marseillaise.

South Vietnam had a pretty cool one.

Marcha Real sounds cooler to me with the Franco-era lyrics.

Along the same lines, I like some nationalistic songs too, like Die Wacht am Rhein and Rule Britannia.


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## opaltiger (Dec 15, 2009)

... said:


> Then there's this quote:
> 
> _To you, our pride past measure,
> Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
> ...


oh _wow_ it translates awfully


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## Shiny Grimer (Dec 16, 2009)

I think they tried to make it rhyme, so I don't know how accurate it is. :P



> To be fair, a number of those countries will have many native languages, sometimes without a clear majority, so writing the national anthem in a colonial language is a fair compromise.


Yeah, I've heard about that too, but I still don't think it's the best option. Why not pull a South Africa on that one? Having the colonial language as the national anthem reinforces the idea that this is what the people should be speaking, that this is the language of prestige (and this attitude makes it easier for lower-class people that don't speak the "upper class languages" to be marginalized).


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## Lady Grimdour (Dec 16, 2009)

The Hymn of the Soviet Union.

Despite the issues with the Gulag and positive history, not to mention communism, the anthem gives you a sense of empowerment, like you can crush an elephant with your little toe.

O Canada is the exact opposite, and I like it. Very... motherly.


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## foreign contaminant (Dec 16, 2009)

the US national anthem is okay, i guess. we totally ripped a british drinking song and attempted to make something patriotic out of it, which was a pretty successful endeavor. i agree with the sentiment that it's not an empowering piece of music.

.. am i the only one who, when someone says "god saves the queen", thinks of the sex pistols song?


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## opaltiger (Dec 16, 2009)

> I think they tried to make it rhyme, so I don't know how accurate it is. :P


yeah it looks like the translator just took the vague idea of each verse then composed entirely different lyrics. how odd! and dammit, there's no mention of god in the original >:(



> .. am i the only one who, when someone says "god saves the queen", thinks of the sex pistols song?


no


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## Tarvos (Dec 16, 2009)

too bad the sex pistols suck


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## Tailsy (Dec 16, 2009)

opaltiger said:


> only scotland would have an anthem yearning for rain, I think.


Well of course! Have you ever seen a happy Scottish person who's on holiday? Even Scottish expats are constantly depressed because they aren't being rained on every time they step out of their front door.

(And Flower of Scotland is pretty much LOL ENGLAND WE BEAT YOU ONCE HA HA HA HA LOSER.)
(Slovene is _such_ a pretty word. Irrelevantly.)


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